A few days ago, I started watching the Bokura ga Ita anime. Without any expectations. Actually to be more accurate, I watched this anime with misconceptions (I thought it was a shounen title; could be because a guy recommended it to me plus the use of "bokura" in the title influencing). Neway, a couple minutes into the first episode, I was like, how come this story sounds so familiar? Especially that bit about the male lead's first girlfriend dying in a car crash. A handful of seconds puzzling later, it hit me. I've read this story before. A feverish Tamaki-looking-for-Haruhi's-middle-school-picture-in-trunk search ensued and ... Released in Indonesia under the totally unassuming title, Here we are, this manga IS Bokura ga Ita. And whadda you know...it's been adapted into an anime. The thing about Bokura ga Ita... I'm not being sarcastic here; there's nothing wrong with that, really. Because to be fair, there's nothing really wrong with Bokura ga Ita. But on the other hand, there's nothing really stellar about it either (my apologies to fans of this shoujo series by Obata Yuuki-sensei). With the exception of that first girlfriend deceased plot thingy, nothing much about this story registered with me. In point of fact, the only reason why I started reading it was because at the time I bought the manga tankoubon, there weren't any new shoujo manga on sale; the chara designs were highly reminiscent of Nanaji Nagamu-sensei's Parfait Tic! (and you know how partial I am to that manga); and the heroine Nanami, while still fresh off the standard genki mold, showed signs of animation by not being the stereotypical sweet manga heroine (what with telling Yano, Shine, baka!, Nanami-chan's got more in common with those wonderfully bitchy Korean manhwa female leads). So really, aside from what we can call "extenuating" circumstances and benefitting from the goodwill brought on by other beloved manga and female protagonists, Bokura ga Ita, if not for the anime adaptation that makes you take a second, longer look, was destined to become a forgettable, good only for an hour's escapism read (unless it decides to prove me wrong in the succeeding installments; so far, there are 10 tankoubon to this series and I'm still reading volume 03). Meanwhile, the equally unassuming anime is nicely produced and animated, palette's all watercolor-ish like the manga covers and the story adaptation (I've watched the first four episodes)—manga chapter by chapter faithful. Hmm. Nothing to write home about. One thing worth the blog space, though, is the casting of relative unknowns/newcomers in the roles of Takahashi Nanami and Yano Motoharu. Sasaki Nozomi's Nanami is her debut role as a seiyuu, while Yazaki Hiroshi, while really quite talented (I commend his underplaying of Yano), is virtually unknown and no Hoshi Souichirou/Sakurai Takahiro/Seki Tomokazu/Suzumura Ken'ichi (in other words, doesn't belong to the regular leading man circle). As I indicated earlier, the pair's relative obscurity is no liability. These "new" talents provide refreshing takes/spins on these manga protagonists in spite of not being well-known. I especially like Sasaki Nozomi; I've come to wub the Nanami chara, simply on the strength and lovability of her portrayal of the role. But aside from the seiyuu wub and me having no real bone to pick with Bokura ga Ita, there's still not much in this title to lock in a firmer emotional investment. At least, not mine. Maybe the succeeding episodes will overturn this conviction, but right now, I can think of several other manga that I would love to see made into anime. Manga I would like to see made into anime QED by Katou Motohiro (I read somewhere that this was turned into an anime, except it didn't take or some such thing but I can't confirm nor deny) Hana-Kimi by Nakajo Hisaya (I talked about my Hana-Kimi anime wishlist entry in this blog post) Parfait Tic! by Nanaji Nagamu (like Hana-Kimi, it's been made into a drama CD—just a not-so short step more into video!) Beyond the Blindfold AKA Land of the Blindfolded AKA Mekakushi no Kuni by Tsukuba Sakura (again, drama CD's done, just needs a tiny leap into animedom) Hot Gimmick by Aihara Miki (While I would rather see this as a dorama, I wouldn't reject an anime if someone decides to adapt it...) Alice 19th by Watase Yuu (methinks it could be even better, production values-wise, than Fushigi Yuugi or Ayashi no Ceres) Akuma de Soro AKA The Devil Does Exist by Takanashi Mitsuba Merupuri - The Marchen Prince by Matsuri Hina Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hina Only the Ring Finger Knows (Sono Yubi dake ga shitteiru) by Kannagi Satoru & Odagiri Hotaru (this list is not exclusively shoujo, you know :wink:) If anyone knows if any of the above were already made into anime, or if there are confirmed info about them being adapted, do drop me a comment? Thank you. So, dreaming of good things to come (I just finished the Sainkoku Monogatari episode about good things coming to those who wait), I remain, ~Hopeful Nik
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